METALLICA's 'Hardwired... To Self-Destruct' Tops U.S. Chart With Nearly 300K Copies Sold

METALLICA's latest studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart, having shifted 291,000 equivalent album units in the week ending November 24. This marks the sixth time METALLICA has topped The Billboard 200, having previously landed at No. 1 with "Death Magnetic" (2008), "St. Anger" (2003), "Reload" (1997), "Load" (1996) and "Metallica" (1991).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

In terms of pure album sales, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" opened with 282,000 copies.

For those interested: 10 tracks sold equal one album sale (since $1.29, the cost for an individual track, multiplied by ten gives you $12.99, a common price for an album, and 1,500 streams is equivalent to one album sale.

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"Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" is METALLICA's first studio album since "Death Magnetic", which sold close to a half million copies in just a three-day sales window and topped The Billboard 200 chart back in September 2008.

The band's first studio album since 2003 moved 490,000 copies in its abbreviated frame, scheduled off-cycle on a Friday to accommodate a worldwide release date.

METALLICA's previous CD, "St. Anger", also had an unusual release date after Elektra Records decided to move up its release to Thursday, June 5, 2003 from Tuesday, June 10, 2003 "to ensure that counterfeit copies of the band's first studio album in six years do not proliferate in the marketplace," the label said at the time.

"St. Anger" sold 418,000 copies in its first, shortened week on the streets to land at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart.

METALLICA's "Re-Load" album sold 435,000 units during its first week in 1997, while 1996's "Load" opened at 680,000. 1991's self-titled "black album" debuted with 598,000 and has since gone on to sell more than 16 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" arrived on November 18. It consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music.

METALLICA revealed last weekend that "Hardwired" was No. 1 in 57 countries, with the album going Top 3 in 75 nations and Top 5 in 105 countries.

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